Home > Firm News > W&L’s James Bilsborrow Appointed to Leading Role in Dicamba Multidistrict Litigation

Apr. 30, 2018

Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh recently named Weitz & Luxenberg attorney James Bilsborrow to the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) over dicamba herbicides and damage caused to millions of acres of farmland in the United States.

“Dicamba has devastated crops across the country, hurting the livelihoods of hundreds of farmers, and in some cases, forcing them to purchase expensive, genetically modified seeds to prevent more damage,” said Mr. Bilsborrow, a member of Weitz & Luxenberg’s Environmental and Consumer Protection Unit. “These farmers deserve justice and compensation for their losses, and I look forward to working with the other members of the committee to fight for those who have been harmed.”

Dicamba is a weed killer made by Monsanto, BASF, and DuPont that is designed to work specifically with Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds that are engineered to resist the chemical.

Despite claims that the herbicide has low volatility and is less prone to becoming airborne, farmers have found that dicamba easily drifts — in some cases up to a mile — and has caused damage to neighboring farms planted with nonresistant crops. Even a small amount of “dicamba drift” can cause widespread damage to farmers who did not use the genetically modified seeds.

Earlier this year, Weitz & Luxenberg filed a lawsuit on behalf of an organic farmer in Arkansas whose crops were damaged by dicamba. In February 2018, the firm’s case was consolidated with several others into the MDL, which is proceeding in the Eastern District of Missouri.

Mr. Bilsborrow will serve on the committee responsible for plaintiffs that have raised both crop damage and antitrust claims.

Weitz & Luxenberg has a history of standing up to Monsanto, BASF, and DuPont. W&L attorneys have filed lawsuits against other toxic Monsanto products, including the weed killer Roundup, which has been linked to non-Hodgkin lymphoma.